


Compassion

by Vanitas_Repliku_26



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-11-08 02:30:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17972762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vanitas_Repliku_26/pseuds/Vanitas_Repliku_26
Summary: Because everyone deserves compassion...even someone like you. Thank you, Link. Post-Skyward Sword.





	1. Compassion

They had been living a comfortable life on the surface near Floria waterfall. Link, Zelda, and Groose had built a house in a secluded section of the woods near the flowing water, but far from where they could get wood for the fireplace. So it was Link's job—since he had his old knight sword again—to go gather a few logs for the fire.

Link was walking back to the cabin with five or six logs underneath his arm when he stopped, ears pricked up when the wind shifted.

 _The wind has changed…._ he thought as he slowly glanced around, searching for whatever it was that had made the wind alter.

There was a sound behind Link, like a gasp of some sort, and the blonde instantly whirled around, dropping the logs he held and drawing his sword only to pause at what he saw.

Ghirahim was lying on his side a few feet away, his left arm wrapped around his chest like it hurt and his clothes and hair dirty.

Link narrowed his eyes, pointing his sword at the Demon Lord.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were destroyed along with Demise."

There was a soft chuckle from Ghirahim as he buried his face in the grass like he didn't want Link to see him.

"Silly boy. It was child's play to simply tear myself away from my Master's sword. What I didn't expect was to retain the injuries from our battle or to be in this….vile human form."

Link didn't believe Ghirahim; he couldn't have turned into a human so easily.

The hero pressed the tip of his sword against Ghirahim's throat which got a loud laugh as a response.

"Go ahead and kill me. I got nothing to live for. I revived my master; I fulfilled my duty. But in the end all my work failed because of you," Ghirahim's arm tightened slightly around his chest. "So go ahead and finish off your last enemy. Go live a happy life with that Zelda brat and that guy with the weird hairdo."

Link stayed still, staring at Ghirahim with hatred in his eyes, before he sighed and withdrew his sword, sheathing it and going to pick up the logs he had been carrying.

"You're not worth my time," the blonde said, walking away without another glance at Ghirahim.

Ghirahim began to shake from cold, pain, and laughter.

"Still as cold as ever…."

* * *

Zelda looked up when Link entered the house and smiled as the blonde set the stack of logs next to the fireplace before she frowned as she sensed that something was off with him.

"Is something the matter, Link?"

"Nothing," Link responded curtly, striding toward his room without a glance at Zelda or Groose. "I'm going to bed."

"Ehh?" Groose asked, watching as the blonde shut the door to his room before he and Zelda looked at each other in confusion.

* * *

Ghirahim sighed when it began to rain softly as dusk began to roll around. He knew that the monsters began to stir during nighttime and he was a sitting duck lying out in the open like he was.

Ghirahim grabbed the scraggly tree that was nearby and began using it as support to get himself to his feet. He held the side of his chest tighter as began to look for some sort of shelter where he would be safe from any monsters. The white-haired man started for the small cave-like space between the roots of a large tree; the entrance was little and hidden, big enough for Ghirahim to squeeze through but not too large that monsters would spot it.

He sat against the back of one root with a sigh, wincing slightly when he accidentally jostled his wounds though the only that was actually bleeding was the one of the side of his chest.

He was cold, tired and hungry; he hated feeling so weak and so…human.

Ghirahim glanced up and gasped when he saw some berries hanging above him, just out of arm's reach.

He didn't know much about Faron Woods though. The berries were probably poisonous for all he knew.

As he watched, one of the berries fell from the bunch and landed on his lap.

Ghirahim stared at it before looking back up just as another one fell.

He couldn't tell whether Hylia was telling him they were okay to eat or whether it was their time to fall.

Immediately, Ghirahim felt angry. It was like Hylia was taking pity on him!

"I don't need your damn pity," he muttered to himself, but he picked up the berries and ate them anyway.

"Kwee?"

Ghirahim glanced up when he heard the sound and spotted a small Kikwi standing at the entrance, staring at him curiously. He gave a low hiss, attempting to scare the creature away, but it seemed to have failed as the Kikwi only came closer to him.

"Go away, you vile creature."

With another soft warble, the Kikwi climbed onto his lap and curled up, the little bud on its back naturally unfurling itself for defense.

Ghirahim gave an annoyed look, but he was in no condition to physically get up and force the creature away from him.

A few seconds later a few more Kikwi came into the small enclosure, either curling up on either side of Ghirahim or at the front of his feet until it looked as if Ghirahim's lower half was covered in grass.

With a low growl, Ghirahim stared at the roots above him with a scowl.

"Very funny, Hylia. You have _such_ a sense of humor."

* * *

"I fear I may have made the wrong decision," Link abruptly said during breakfast the next day.

"With what?" Zelda asked.

"Yesterday….I saw Ghirahim on my way back from gathering the firewood."

"Did ya kill him?" Groose asked eagerly.

"I might have," Link sighed. "He claimed he was human, but I didn't believe him and left him to fend for himself."

"You should go find him," Zelda suggested and Groose gave a protesting "What? !" at the proposal.

"But what if—"

"I'm sure that if Hylia thought of him as worth saving then she would have somehow protected him through the night," Zelda gave a soft smile. "She has much forgiveness."

Link appeared to think about it before he nodded and stood up.

"I'll be back, then."

"You're seriously going to allow him to bring back the guy who practically killed you?" Groose asked as the front door shut.

The only response he got was a harsh punch in the shoulder that told him to be quiet.

* * *

Link began his search near where he had first spotted Ghirahim. When he had just run out of places to look he saw a small entrance to a crevice and crouched down as he entered the enclosed space.

"Ghirahim?" Link asked, part of him hoping that the white-haired man was there. "You in here?"

"Kwee?"

Link stopped when he saw a young Kikwi staring at him sleepily before it lay back flat on the ground and resumed sleeping. As he looked around, he spotted more Kikwis covering Ghirahim's lower half, all asleep with their protective bulbs unfurled.

He went closer to Ghirahim, being careful not to step on any of the Kikwis, and shook his shoulder.

"Ghirahim? Hey, Ghira-"

"Shut up, you twit. I'm sleeping."

Link became a little miffed when Ghirahim turned his head the other way before he sighed, deciding that he deserved that.

But he was not just about to give up.

"Ghirahim, you have to wake up. Come on; don't make me hit you."

Ghirahim sighed, slowly opening his eyes and looking at Link.

"I can't sleep with you buzzing in my ear like that."

"It's morning, sleepyhead," Link said before he could stop himself.

He blushed when he realized what he had said; it had become a bit of a habit for him to say that since Zelda had said it so many times to him when he wouldn't wake up in the morning.

"Cute," Ghirahim sneered as he looked away. "What are you here for?"

"I'm here to…take you my house."

It felt really awkward to say that.

Even Ghirahim seemed surprised by the invitation as he turned his head further away so Link couldn't see his expression.

"Why….?" he asked in a soft voice. "Why would you…."

"Everyone….deserves a little bit of compassion."


	2. Thank You, Link

 

* * *

He hated the stares that he got as he and Link entered the house with Link practically carrying all his weight against his side. He despised the weakness that he now had and wished that Link really had ended his life so he wouldn't have to live with the pain and the weakness and the…guilt.

He glanced at Zelda as they walked past her and instead of the hatred and disgust that he suspected he would see in her eyes all he saw was….compassion and…acceptance.

When the blonde saw his gaze she gave a soft smile.

How could she smile at him like that after everything that he did? How could she so easily forgive him? He didn't understand.

Groose merely sneered at him, looking away as he crossed his arms over his chest, obviously disgruntled and displeased that Ghirahim was even in the same room as him.

"I don't understand any of this," he whispered as Link helped him sit down on the edge of his bed. "How can you accept me so openly after all the things that I did?"

"I don't think I'm that ready yet," Link admitted as he looked through his adventure pouch for a potion. "It was Zelda who goaded me into it. She has so much forgiveness that she would probably forgive a Bokoblin that tried to attack her."

"That's going to get her killed someday," Ghirahim said as Link handed him a red potion. "What's this?"

"A potion. It should heal your wounds faster than if we just treated them normally."

Ghirahim stared at it for a few seconds. He had never had the need to use a….potion. What did it taste like?

"Right," Link said as if understanding Ghirahim's hesitance. "You've never used a potion before when you were a demon. Trust me, it doesn't taste good, but you'll feel immensely better after you drink it."

He continued to stare at it before he decided that he would just take a small sip of it if it was that powerful.

He didn't expect to feel his wounds start healing on their own, the aching in his muscles and joints vanishing, or his strength returning; he ended up drinking the entire bottle because he just wanted to keep that feeling of being powerful again.

"I can see you're feeling better again," Link chuckled lightly and for some reason that made an awkward feeling rise to Ghirahim's cheeks.

Ghirahim began furiously rubbing his cheeks to get the feeling to go away.

"Is something that matter?" Link asked, leaning closer to Ghirahim who responded by leaning away when the feeling worsened. "Are you sick?"

The blonde continued staring at Ghirahim before he tilted his head to the side.

"I think you need a bath," Link concluded with a bright smile.

Ghirahim's pointed ear twitched. What the hell was a bath?

* * *

Ghirahim stared at the tub filled with water before looking at Link, who stood nearby watching him almost eagerly, then staring back at the water and touching it with his hand.

It felt pleasantly warm.

He looked back at Link. "How long can I stay?"

"Until it gets cold. Then you'll probably want to get out."

Ghirahim resumed staring at the water before he began to shamelessly strip in front of Link who immediately covered his eyes with a protesting shout.

"Wait until I leave, stupid!"

He waited until Link exited the bathroom (which took a few tries since Link refused to remove his hands from his eyes) before he finished undressing and stepped into the tub.

Ghirahim instantly went to the center of the tub where it was the warmest and lowered his head until his nose was just above the water, a pleased expression on his face as he closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes he found himself staring into the face of his master.

With a startled gasp, he hit the water with his hand to disperse the image before turning around and wrapping his arms around his chest as he shivered slightly.

 _No, no, he's dead,_ he told himself. _Link vanquished him. There's no way…just no way…_

Ghirahim shook his head.

* * *

After he had gotten dressed (wearing Link's brown pants and Groose's too large red shirt made him feel even more awkward than he already was) Ghirahim walked into the kitchen to see Zelda, Groose and Link sitting down, apparently getting ready to eat dinner.

Ghirahim just didn't feel like it though; all that guilt and regret came back at him full force.

"Do you mind if I go for a walk?" he asked.

"A walk?" Link repeated, but before anyone could stop him, Ghirahim was already out the door.

Once the front door had shut, Zelda slapped Groose's arm.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You scared him away!" Zelda chastised. "I could sense you glaring at him! He's already in a fragile state because of what he thinks we think about him and your evil stares took it over the edge!"

"Just calm down, Zelda," Link said, "it's not his fault. I'll go look for him, okay? We'll be back."

* * *

Ghirahim had found the farthest corner of Faron woods and sat himself down on a log with a few mushrooms growing near it. He sighed as he drew his knees to his chest, feeling much like a sulking child, and rested his chin on the top of them, staring ahead of him gloomily.

He lost himself in his thoughts of everything that he had done, falling deeper into depression so much that he swore there must have been a gloomy cloud above his head.

"Kikwi….?"

Ghirahim glanced down to see two Kikwi staring up at him and he realized that one of them was the one who had been the first to lie on his lap the night before.

"What are you doing here, little ones?" he asked, dropping his feet to the ground and leaning closer to the small creatures. "Are you lost like I am?"

The two Kikwis must not have been old enough to speak for themselves, but it was obvious that they understood emotions pretty well.

The one who had laid on his lap climbed up his legs and settled himself down on Ghirahim's legs while the other one hopped onto the log and sat beside Ghirahim.

"Are you trying to comfort me?" he asked the little Kikwi buried his face in the white-haired man's chest. "That's nice of you."

He put his arms around the Kikwi and put his face against the soft fur, realizing that what he was doing was such a weak human thing to do but it felt so right for some reason.

"I'm glad that you forgive me. I heard that Kikwi know a good person from a bad one. Is it merely that you're following Hylia's orders?"

"Kwekwee…."

"No, I guess you are too young for that. I like my previous idea anyway."

"…Ghirahim?"

Ghirahim looked up when he heard his name and saw Link cautiously walking toward him as if wondering whether he should be disturbing him.

"What about you?"

"…What do you mean?"

"You always were the slow one, weren't you?" Ghirahim gave an amused chuckle as he stood up, setting the Kikwi down on the log before walking closer to Link until he stood just a few feet away and stared at the blonde seriously. "Do…"

Ghirahim stopped and shook his head. "No, I should rephrase that….can you forgive me for all that I've done to both you and Zelda?"

"Of course I can. I mean both Zelda and I have already forgiven you. I guess that it will probably take some time for Groose to fully forgive you, but…"

The next thing that Link knew he was being hugged. It surprised him so much that he didn't know how to react because he was being hugged. By Ghirahim.

"Thank you, Link…." Ghirahim whispered, his voice shaking slightly but for some reason he didn't mind it. "For everything."

"It was noth-"

And then he was being kissed.

It wasn't a rough, hungry kiss; it was something gentle and soft and a thing that he thought Ghirahim would not have been capable of.

When Ghirahim pulled back, he stared into Link's eyes and as Link stared back he could see something so human and absolutely alive about them.

"I mean it. Thank you, Link."


End file.
